Literacy news
The child-led approach
25 Aug 2010
In an article in Nursery World (August 2010) the philosophies of Magda Gerber and Emmi Pikler, pioneering early years educators, are examined.
Magda Gerber and Emmi Pikler were friends and colleagues in Budapest, Hungary, working in early years education until Gerber fled to America in 1956. After Gerber left, the pair kept in touch sharing their experiences and theories and both based their work on the same founding principle: that respect for children should be paramount in any interaction. This idea of respect called for adults to appreciate a child’s personality and abilities and subsequently to follow the child’s lead while interacting with them. Based on this Gerber developed her Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) approach and Pikler ran an orphanage in Budapest.
Gerber’s RIE is about tuning into children through building close relationships with and listening to them. Parents are encouraged to look for and understand their children’s non-verbal language and communication. Gerber’s RIE also placed emphasis on the environment, making sure it had high-quality equipment, was structured and allowed for many different styles of play.
Pikler’s orphanage ran a programme which gave children one-to-one care during times like feeding, bathing and nappy changing. These workers were similar to key workers currently in settings. Pikler worked outside the orphanage with parents, encouraging them to observe their children and learn from those observations what their children like and who they are. Again, Pikler places respect for the child at the centre of her work.
Both Gerber and Pikler were proponents of parents understanding and taking advantage of the real communication which can happen just with body language and eye contact.
For more information about Gerber and Pikler see www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_articles/piklergerber.pdf.
Read the full article at http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/login/1023813/Learning---Development-Taking-inspiration-Magda-Gerber/
(Nursery World, August 2010)
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